In the Lazy Hours
by Blythia
Summary: Welcome to the apartment complex! Not just an ordinary one, but one filled with Gym Leaders. Here you'll find psychics, dragon tamers, gardeners, studious teenagers, and more! Come see snippets of their day.
1. Sleepy Talk

**AN:** I know there's some fics portraying Candice as a little older, but she's going to be fifteen in this fic. It's just... I don't know, she doesn't look like she's twenty or something. She just screams "romance loving teenager" to me. This also applies to Cheren. Bugsy would be around twelve to thirteen.

The apartment complex gym leaders lived in looked like any other concrete building someone might find in the city. Sure, it looked old on the outside and inside. There were many windows out the front and two glass doors. The back side had a fire escape route, which was a staircase and ladders. Inside, the walls were gray and the hard floor was covered in green carpet. Eight apartments usually lined the walls, depending on the floor. A staircase led to all the six floors. An elevator was next to it, but it was unused.

A group of three gym leaders were chatting in the hallway of the first floor. Specifically, Cheren, Candice, and Bugsy. Ever since they moved in to the apartment complex, they've become great friends. All three of them knew a lot about some kind of subject.

"It's a hot day today, huh?" said Bugsy.

"Yeah," said Cheren, "How are you feeling Candice?"

"Oh I'm fine," said Candice, "I always keep my cool no matter the weather."

"Well good for you, _Canned Ice_!" said Bugsy. Sometimes he, along with Candice, tried to make their names sound punny.

"Oh Bugsy! You know I always have a sweater tied around my waist, right?" said Candice. "I'm from Snowpoint City. And what about you, Cher- _em?_ Wanna go up or something?"

"Oh, um, yeah. Let's go up." The three of them walked up the staircase and passed by Norman.

"Hello there," he greeted. "What are you three up to today?"

"We're just heading back to our apartments," said Cheren.

"Okay then. Can I have you two boys for a second? You can go, Candice."

"Oh whoops! I forgot I have to do something with Gardenia! Thanks for reminding me! Kinda," said Candice and rushed upstairs. Norman waited until she was out of earshot.

"So you're at that age where you're spying on girls or something?" asked Norman.

"Wait what-?!" both Cheren and Bugsy exclaimed. "No it's-!"

"If you have anything to say, say it when we're done. We should have a talk about the Swellow and the Combee. Just in case something goes wrong when you're with Candice," said Norman. In the next moment the three of them were headed to his apartment on the third floor. Norman's apartment looked ordinary on the inside. It had a small kitchen, bedroom, and a living room with a tiny TV. Bugsy and Cheren went to the kitchen and sat down at the table while Norman grabbed a book from the bookshelf in the living room.

"This is how it all starts," said Norman as he opened the book to a random page, "The pituitary gland. It may be small, but it has big plans!"

Cheren and Bugsy looked at each other uncomfortably. This whole deal was a big misunderstanding! They're only friends with Candice, and Norman thinks otherwise!

"I assure you this sounds bad at the start, but trust me, it'll tone down. That's how my daughter felt when I talked to her about it," said Norman, calming them down. From then on, Cheren and Bugsy waited impatiently for it to end.

...

"So you're telling me that you might date one of them?" asked Candice to Gardenia. She was in her apartment.

"Yeah. I really want to go out with Roark. Or Burgh. But I'm a little afraid that they're going to say no when I ask them," said Gardenia. "Do you've anything to say about this?"

"I know asking out on your first date might make you nervous, but go for it! Just forget what they might say when you ask. Don't hesitate at all," advised Candice. Turtwig bounded on over to them.

" _Tur Turtwig!_ " it cried.

"See? It even says you should do it!" said Candice.

"Now that you say it... I think I'm feeling confident in myself. Thank you Candice!" said Gardenia happily.

"No problem! Just ask me anytime when you need help in hookups," said Candice and left.

...

"Now that is done for today, I'd like you two to take care of these," Norman opened a cupboard to get two Pokémon eggs and gave them to Cheren and Bugsy. "When you are done, give them back to me and don't do anything to them. Just observe them," he instructed.

"O-okay Mr. Norman sir," Bugsy hesitated as he received the egg.

"You take care," said Norman.

"We will!" said Cheren and exited the apartment, followed by Bugsy.

"Can you believe we're actually doing this?" said Cheren. His voice had hints of annoyance as he said it.

"No. At least we're getting the talk, not someone younger. Like Tate and Liza," said Bugsy.

"Oh. Right," said Cheren, completely forgetting about the twins.

The two of them went back to their apartments, spending their nights keeping watch at the eggs for three long hours until giving in to sleep. The next morning they returned the eggs to Norman.

"Well done," he said, "You managed to take care of the eggs without breaking them. This might've been itching your head a little, but do you know what Pokémon are in them?"

"No sir," said Cheren.

"The Pokémon that are in these eggs are Pidove and Sentret," said Norman, "Now, let's move on to the next thing."

 _Time for more of this talk_ , thought Cheren and Bugsy, as Norman explained whatever to them. When they were done, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Since we're done for today, I suggest you should do something with Candice," said Norman.

"Like what?" asked Cheren.

"I don't know. Let's see... How about you walk around with her outside?" said Norman.

"No, I'm not so sure about that. She is a social butterfly after all."

"What about a sleepover?" chirped Bugsy. "It's perfect right?"

"Great idea Bugsy!" Cheren piped in. "She would love that!"

"Then it's settled," said Norman. "You two have a great night."

"Thanks Norman. I hope you too," wished Cheren and left with Bugsy.

"We should ask Candice if she's okay with the sleepover," said Bugsy. Both of them went upstairs and knocked on Candice's apartment door. She answered the door.

"Oh hi you two!" said Candice. "You need anything today?"

"Actually, we have something to ask you about," said Cheren, "Are you okay with having a sleepover at your place tonight?"

"Yeah! That would be totally great!" said Candice. "See you later!"

"See you later too," Bugsy said as they started to leave. At their apartments they took a shower, changed out into pajamas, and brought sleeping bags to her place. Candice was wearing blue pajamas when they arrived.

"Hi again guys!" said Candice. "What should we do now?"

"Um, we didn't eat yet," said Bugsy.

"Same here," said Candice, "I have some roasted Farfetch'd if you like."

"That's fine," said Cheren. The three gathered at the kitchen and helped themselves to rice and Farfetch'd.

"So what do you wanna do after this?" asked Candice.

"Maybe watch a movie. I'm kinda curious to see what you have," said Bugsy.

"I've a bunch of romance movies," said Candice, "Which one do you want to watch?"

Cheren and Bugsy shuddered at the word _romance_. Unfortunately, Candice noticed.

"Huh? You don't like those kind of movies?" asked Candice.

"We're fine," said Cheren. "We can watch whatever you want."

After dinner, they dug through Candice's movie collection until she found the movie _Titanic_. She put it in the DVD player and played it. Throughout the movie they remained silent. At the end, Candice asked, "So how do you guys think about the movie?"

"That movie's sad. I think I actually cried when he died," said Cheren. He glanced at the windows outside. It was already night out. "I think we should sleep right now."

Bugsy yawned. Both of them got their sleeping bags and went to Candice's bedroom. They laid them out on the floor. She hopped on to her bed.

"Good night guys," she yawned while she said it.

"Good night," they said back. They must've been really sleepy, because when they woke up, it was already noon. Candice was dressed in her usual attire.

"Wake up you two! It's already twelve!" she said.

"Huh...?" Cheren and Bugsy said in a dozed off manner. They fully opened their eyes when Candice mentioned that their breakfast was getting cold. "We're up, we're up!"

At breakfast time, Candice watched them eat. The two boys thought she already ate.

"I'm kind of curious as to why you asked for a sleepover," she said.

Cheren and Bugsy abruptly stopped eating and looked at each other. _Should we tell her?_ they seemed to say. Uncomfortably they told her about the talk they had with Norman. Her grin slowly disappeared.

"Oh, I did not expect that," Candice said. "I'll go tell him." She left her apartment as Cheren and Bugsy heard her footsteps downstairs.

Candice knocked on Norman's apartment. He opened the door.

"What brings you here Candice?" he asked.

"I want to tell you about the talk you're giving to them," she said. Norman's heart skipped a beat.

"What about it?"

"Cheren and Bugsy are only friends with me. Nothing romantic going on. I hope this whole thing was just a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" Candice nodded her head. Norman felt embarrassed about this. That talk was for nothing.

"We're ending this now. Please?"

"Well, let's think of this as a heads-up okay? Just in case something went wrong," he said. Candice left the apartment and checked on her friends.

"I told him," she said, "Everything's fine now."

"Thanks Candice. For saving us all that trouble," both Cheren and Bugsy said.

"No problem," Candice said.

 **AN:** I now regret that Cheren pun I made in the beginning. Originally the movie they watched was Twilight.


	2. A Quiet Rockstar

Chapter 2: A Quiet Rockstar

Normally the late evenings were a time for the Gym Leaders to sleep. Unless if you're Roxie. A few times a week she would sing improvised rock songs and karaoke loudly on the microphone while everyone was sleeping. It was a bad habit of hers too. She have gotten a few noise complaints from her neighbors, but what can she do? There wasn't any music studio or karaoke bar nearby the apartment complex. It was more than a pastime. It was her life, her job.

So much so that Roxie would stay holed up in her apartment all day. Sometimes she would write songs and experiment if it would work with her style when she played it. Other times, she would wing it. On really lazy nights, she would spell out "Pokémon" to a tune she made up when she's burned out. Tonight is one of those nights. Unfortunately, this bad habit of hers turned into a nightly thing.

"P-O-K-É-M-O-N. Pokémon!" Roxie sang into the microphone for about fifty minutes. Her apartment was dark and a purple neon lamp was the only thing that lit up the room. She strummed her electric guitar and the speakers sounded like they were about to burst. The microphone let out a loud screeching sound that penetrated the walls, disturbing Lenora and Burgh's evening. She then proceeded to scream lyrics of her favorite songs, such as "Crawling" by Linkin Park, for ten minutes. After her session of singing, she took a huge sip of water.

"Whew! That sure took a lot of energy out of me!" said Roxie. She turned off the speakers and lamp unplugged the guitar from them. Sleep, peaceful sleep at last. Unless if there is at least one noise complaint that will kick her out of the apartment complex. Little did she know it wasn't a noise complaint that'll keep her quiet.

The next morning Roxie arose from bed early. In the bathroom she washed her face, completely waking her up. Clearing her throat, she finally felt refreshed. Her Koffing and Whirlipede were waiting for her outside. Usually they would stay in their Pokéballs during the night. Perhaps they missed her when she had done her singing session and wanted to join in?

" _Good morning guys_ ," Roxie croaked. _Must have some phlegm stuck in my throat still_ , she thought. She cleared her throat again. " _How you two doing_?" Her voice was as sore as ever. _Don't you worry about it Roxie. It'll go away soon,_ she hoped.

Her two Pokémon chittered back in response. They didn't seem to mind about her voice. Roxie headed downstairs for the first floor. At the far side of the floor was a vending machine. She bought 2 bottles of Fresh Water and went back upstairs, only to find Lenora getting out of her apartment.

"Hello there Roxie," said Lenora. "I'm just heading to work. What are you up to lately?"

" _Nothing much. I'm just gonna stay in my apar-_ ," Lenora cut her off and blocked Roxie's apartment.

"Woah there. You're not sounding so good. You got to go the doctor. This is serious."

" _What? No, I'm- I'm completely fine. The soreness will go away soon_ ," Roxie wheezed and showed her the two bottles of water.

"If you're not going to go, then I suggest you lay off on the singing," said Lenora. "Probably for a week."

" _Yeah yeah, I got you_ ," Roxie opened the door to the apartment, ignoring her advice. _Going to the doctor?_ Roxie thought. _Like I'm gonna do it. I can just sit around and do nothing!_ She uncapped the water bottle, gulping down all its contents and coughed. She turned on the TV and flipped through the channels. Nothing interesting for her to watch. She turned off her TV and let out her two Pokémon.

" _So now I can't sing, what should I do?_ " Roxie asked. Her Whirlipede rolled by her and petted it. " _If only I can understand you,_ " she said. " _How about you Koffing? Have anything to say?_ " Koffing let out a plume of smoke.

" _Oh what am I going to do? Keeping quiet is harder than I thought_ ," Roxie wheezed. She grabbed a book about the history of rock and roll. Reading it, it quickly bored her even though it was about her favorite hobby. She looked at her electric guitar. It was tempting enough to play it.

 _No. No I'm not doing it. I am not_ , Roxie strongly thought to herself. _If I'm not gonna do it, then I'll... Oh fine. I'll go the doctor, if it's the only thing I can do to pass the time._

 _..._

At the doctor's office, Roxie waited until her name was called up. She told her doctor about her sore voice. He gave her many solutions on her problem.

"Seeing that you sing on a daily basis, it's best that you rest your voice for at least a week," he advised. "I suggest you buy some medicine and drink lots of water. Don't raise your voice," he went on. Roxie nodded her head as she listened.

" _Thanks_ ," was all she could muster from this conversation before leaving the building. Roxie went to a nearby pharmacy to buy some medicine. Now she was back in her apartment. She drank a little bit of the medicine and some water. To pass the time however, was a different story.

All she could do at the moment were watching TV and texting the other Unovan Gym Leaders to see what they were doing. Once she tried going outside for a walk around the apartment complex. It was quiet enough for her to enjoy the peace. Clusters of Rufflet and Pidove flew in the sky. Roxie couldn't help but watch. Eventually it got warm and she retreated back inside her apartment. So far, so good. She kept quiet for five days. Only two more to go.

Roxie's electric guitar was in between Koffing and Whirlipede. It seemed like they wanted her to play it.

"No you two, you know I can't sing right now," Her voice was getting significantly better, but she still sounded a little sick. "But that doesn't mean I can't play it." She picked it up and slowly strummed it. Roxie was usually crazy with the strumming, but given that she's taking things slow, she played a calm melody. From the looks of it, they seemed to like it. Roxie ended it with a beautiful flourish.

"Thanks for listening you two," said Roxie. She yawned. It was only late afternoon outside. Maybe the melody made her sleepy. She went to her bed and took a nap. By the time she woke up it was already eight o'clock. The only option at this time was to eat dinner. After dinner she got ready for bed.

The next day, she received a text from Clay. It read "The Unova Gym Leaders are having a meeting today at seven. Meetings at that unused room on the first floor. Text me back if you have something important to do at that time."

 _My voice can't be that bad_ , Roxie thought. _I'll go_. She set an alarm on her phone for the meeting.

...

As usual, the Gym Leaders dreaded the meeting. It was boring for the most part. All they talked about were ways to improve their battle prowess in Gym battles. This was a low point of the meeting for everyone. Some were almost at the verge of sleeping like Iris. It was time for Roxie to change up the mood.

"What even are the point of these meetings? We just talk about things we already know about," she complained.

"The point of these meetings, young ma'am, is to make sure you are up to your standards as a Gym Leader," said Clay.

"That doesn't mean we should be reminded every month."

"This is important-."

"What does it matter if it's important? We already know!" Roxie yelled. The other Gym Leaders flinched at the sound of her voice. Iris woke up to the sound of it. Roxie stormed out of the room.

"What's wrong with her?" Iris asked. The other Gym Leaders shrugged.

 _Feels great to yell again_ , Roxie thought as she went upstairs. She turned on the karaoke set and scrolled through the selection of songs. She stopped scrolling when she spotted a song she overlooked. It was "Yume no Tsuzuki" by Mariya Takeuchi. She clicked on the play button on the microphone.

It was easy to see why she skipped this song. It was mostly in Japanese, but it had an optimistic tune to go along with it. Roxie tried to pronounce the romanized Japanese lyrics at the bottom of the screen, but failed. At the end of the song she felt really optimistic. The lyrics at the bottom of the screen said, "Just believe someday you find your hard time's gone. Try not to look back on your yesterday. So keep on dreaming of tomorrow, don't you look so sad, girl. There will be a fine thing, everything will be all right."

With a feeling of knowing she would have a great day, Roxie turned off the karaoke set. It was a fine way to end her night at last, and with a good finale.


End file.
